9 Creative Toppings For Your Next Tomato Flight

Tomatoes are at their freshest during their summer harvest period. If you grow your own and have an abundance, you might be wondering what to make with fresh tomatoes so they don't go to waste. Sure, you can slice them up for sandwiches or mash and cook them into pasta and pizza sauces, but a creative way of enjoying them fresh has blown up on social media this summer: the tomato flight. If you have not seen it yet, a tomato flight is similar to a beer or wine flight — giving you a variety of flavor combinations on one plate. 

Thick slices of heirloom tomatoes are a favorite for this dish because of their sturdiness and large size, but you can use thick cuts of your preferred tomatoes. Then, each slice is topped with different combinations of ingredients, from cured meats and cheeses to fruits, vegetables, sauces, and herbs. The tomato flight trend blew up in June 2025 when a post by content creator @alessandrabrontsema went viral on TikTok. However, a little digging by Daily Meal found that she wasn't actually the first. TikTok creator @cripandip posted a video in September 2024 of putting different topping combinations on thick slices of tomatoes. While it is difficult to determine who we have to thank for this delicious dish, the flavor options are practically endless. With that in mind, here are nine creative ways that you can prepare your next tomato flight.

If you want to start off your tomato flight simple, garden salad toppings are just the ticket. Stack some shaved vegetables — carrots, cucumbers, and red onions — onto a slice. Then, top it off with a classic ranch dressing. You do not have to stick to this combination, though. Include anything that you usually like in your salad. For example, consider adding some arugula, spinach, or shredded lettuce. Sliced olives contribute a bit of brine and salt, while banana and jalapeño peppers give it some spice. You can also substitute the dressing for your favorite — fresh apricot dressing, blue cheese, Italian, lemon vinaigrette, and Thousand Island. On the other hand, you could turn it into a Caesar salad with the namesake dressing, parmesan cheese, and a dusting of crumbled croutons on top.

Featuring some of the ingredients that will seriously upgrade our tomatoes — like basil, flaky salt, and balsamic vinegar — the heirloom tomato Caprese salad is a classic Italian-inspired dish. Traditionally, it involves spreading out slices of tomatoes on a plate and layering them with mozzarella and basil before drizzling Italian dressing or olive oil over the top. For Caprese flavor in a tomato flight, though, you only use one big slice of tomato topped with these ingredients.

However, you do not have to follow the traditional recipe either. Consider adding some pepper and swapping classic basil for purple basil. For even more variation, spread a bit of pesto on the tomato, and add layers of mozzarella and thinly sliced peaches. Then, drizzle with balsamic vinegar before topping with arugula and a sprinkle of pepper.

Eggs may be a breakfast staple, but you can savor them at any time of day. Since putting scrambled eggs on toast with some avocado is a common breakfast combination, substituting the toast for a tomato slice is far from a stretch of the imagination. Just lay down the avocado slices, and stack on your scrambled eggs. You can even give your scrambled eggs gourmet flavor by cooking them with garlic and herb compound butter. Then, finish the combination with chili crisp for a little heat. For a twist on this combination, substitute the scrambled eggs with your favorite classic egg salad recipe. There are a lot of ways that you can adapt this tomato dish, too. Pickled onions add briny flavor to egg salad, while you could add bacon to your egg salad like Alton Brown.

Cottage cheese might be a controversial ingredient to put on your tomato flight because not everyone likes it. If you have the right combination of flavors, though, you could be surprised. To start, Kalona SuperNatural organic whole milk cottage cheese is the best to get, as determined by Daily Meal's ultimate ranking of cottage cheese brands. Although, a couple of other top-rated options are Prairie Farms large curd or Daisy cottage cheese.

With your tomato and cottage cheese ready, you could go a few different ways. For a spicy experience, spread the cottage cheese, add a drizzle of hot honey, and sprinkle habanero or red pepper flakes on top. You can add a bit of extra flavor with a few different ingredients, too. For instance, sprinkle the tomato with salt, spread out some pesto, and add a scoop of cottage cheese before drizzling with hot pepper oil.

The BLT may have mysterious origins (possibly as a Victorian-era tea sandwich in England) but there's no denying how popular the sandwich is in the United States. Using classic ingredients, you can add it to your tomato flight. Just spread some mayonnaise onto your tomato slice, lay down your choice of lettuce — red leaf, iceberg, or shredded — and either bacon pieces or strips. You can even add some pepper on top or over the mayo before you add the lettuce. Another substitution is arugula if you don't have lettuce.

If you like the dippable BLT experience of adding bacon, lettuce, and tomato to guacamole, why not try it out on your tomato flight? You can either lay down a few thin slices of avocado or mash up the fruit first to use it as a spread. Then, sprinkle chopped bacon and shredded lettuce on top. For extra crunch, use crispy leaves of lettuce instead of the shredded variety, and for a kick of flavor, give the top a drizzle of spicy mayonnaise.

If you don't like bacon but enjoy deli meats instead, the ways that you can incorporate them into your tomato flight are practically endless. Start with a layer of mascarpone, and spread plenty of basil pesto — a gourmet upgrade for any tomato sandwich — on top. Then, stack on some prosciutto and sprinkle with black pepper.

Another option is to spread some cream cheese on the tomato slice (it doesn't have to be perfect), add some salami and banana peppers, and then drizzle with a bit of olive oil. On the other hand, you can just choose your favorite condiment, meat, and cheese. Then, layer them on the tomato slice, topping it with a little olive oil, salt, pepper, and Italian herb (to taste) for a classic sandwich-style combination.

The term "bánh mì" in Vietnamese refers to "bread" and "sandwich." More specifically, the bánh is the legume or starch-based ingredient that defines the dish. Because of that, you cannot technically have a bánh mì without a baguette, but in this case, the name is indicative of putting the sandwich contents of a bánh mì recipe (or a roast pork Vietnamese sandwich) on a tomato slice — even though tomato is not commonly used.

To put it together, just spread some pâté onto a tomato, and add layers of sliced cucumber and Vietnamese pork and pickles. Top it off with a couple small slices of jalapeño and a fresh sprig of cilantro — both of which create a beautiful presentation. Since there are no set rules for the contents of a bánh mì, you can experiment with various cold cuts and cooked meats (including meatballs), condiments, and veggie toppings.

As a tried-and-true dish, shrimp cocktail has been an indulgent appetizer at restaurants and dinner parties for more than a century. The best part is that it only takes a handful of ingredients to put together a shrimp cocktail recipe — which is the same reason it is ideal for a tomato flight, albeit with a few differences. Start by sprinkling Old Bay seasoning over the tomato slice, and then squeeze some fresh lemon on top. Next, spread on a little horseradish before you lay down a poached shrimp (or two) with some capers and a bit of parsley. For some variation, you could substitute the Old Bay seasoning for simple salt and pepper, add pickle juice to your shrimp cocktail for a briny kick, and grill instead of poach your shrimp to get the smoky char.

Making a Mediterranean-inspired topping for one of your tomato slices is a super fresh way to end your tomato flight. Simply lay down some sliced cucumbers with a slice of feta, kalamata olives, and a sprinkle of oregano on top. On the other hand, you can top the tomato with diced cucumber, red onion, kalamata, oregano, and feta crumbles.

Since tzatziki sauce is a key component in many Greek meals, it's a fantastic way to upgrade the flavor. The chopped dill and lemon juice give this yogurt-based dip its zing, which pairs well with the sweetness of the tomato. If you don't want to make your own tzatziki sauce, store-bought is just fine. Luckily, we've tried several tzatziki brands to find the best. Boar's Head was the winner, but Joseph's and Whole Foods 365 were high on the list as well.